Wednesday chat: How important is this series?

Cliff Lee and the Phillies made a statement Tuesday night with a crisp 5-0 win over the Red Sox in the opener of a series billed as a potential World Series matchup.

Some players on the two teams have talked about the excitement surrounding this series and the potential it has to be an October preview. Other players have noted that it's just an interleague series in late June and that there is still a ways to go before the playoffs, let alone the World Series. Lee's outing on Tuesday generated lots of excitement in this city - and plenty of buzz around the country - but if we're being unbiased and level-headed - how big is this series really? Perhaps it only becomes a true statement if the Phillies sweep the Sox. Or maybe even that wouldn't change the fact that this is nothing more than an intriguing series between two quality teams.

Cliff notes: As you may have already heard, Cliff Lee allowed one run in 42 innings this month, good for a 0.21 ERA. In case you were wondering which major league starter had the worst ERA this month, that would be Ted Lilly, who had a 7.01 ERA in five starts for the Dodgers.  Hypothetically, if Lilly was starting for Los Angeles tomorrow – on the last day of the month – he would literally need to hold the Twins scoreless for 874 1/3 scoreless innings just to match Lee’s June ERA of 0.21. … Lee and the Tigers’ Rick Porcello each faced 147 batters in June. Porcello allowed 27 of them to score. Lee allowed one – and that came on a two-out, bloop single. … The Phillies’ opened June with a loss to the Nationals. In that game, Roy Oswalt allowed a first-inning single to Roger Bernadina, who was sacrificed to second and then promptly scored on a base hit by Jayson Werth. So, it took Oswalt approximately five minutes to give up as many runs as Lee allowed over a period of 30 days. … One more thought: Lee just went five starts in which he allowed a total of one run. There are many, many bad Phillies pitchers over the years for whom this would work, but for the sake of example, let’s pick Andy Ashby in 2000. In the very best stretch he had for the Phillies that season, Ashby allowed 20 runs over five starts. Lee just went five starts where he allowed 21 hits. Let that - and the greatness of Cliff Lee - sink in for a minute.

Comments

[Fatalotti]

Clout, have you ever watched a home run derby? Why doesn't every player who steps up there (remember, these are all power hitters) have 50 homeruns before they record their first out?

Because hitting a round baseball with a round bat over 350 feet is hard, no matter what level of baseball you are at. And, I'm a fan of the game before I'm an analyst. I cheer when my guys hit homeruns, and I find the ability to hit a ball 400 feet to be cot damn impressive, no matter who does it.

Am I not allowed to feel this way? Do I need to check with you before I cheer next time?

Seriously man, get over yourself.

[Chris in VA]

Whether or not the Phils meet up with the Red Sox in the World Series, this series is important because it's against a proven, good team. We have to win series against good teams, whether it's the Red Sox, Brewers, Braves, Giants or whomever, to believe that we have a good shot at being WFC again.

And so far, despite our offensive struggles, it looks like we have that good shot ...

[Dan in Philly]

I have never seen a team with 3 starters better than the ones now pitching for Philly in my 40 years, ever.

[JD in Delco]

Interesting article on Red Sox, Yankees, Phillies, and Cliff Lee in today's Boston Herald.

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view/2011_0629thankful-lee_he_went_to_philly_2/srvc=home&position=recent

[Scotch Man]

I just remember the days when the big signing was Jon Lieber. My how things have changed! I'm definitely soaking Lee's three straight shut outs in.

[lorecore]

fata: violation - you cant repost comments in a new thread when the new thread was posted specifically to end such an awful, lame discussion in which such comment was a part of.

[clout]

Fata: Yes, yes, it's incredibly impressive whenever someone hits a HR, even in batting practice. Indeed, half the posters here should swoon and fall off their chairs when it happens.

But for those who actually have some curiosity about the game, the distinctions of the sort that MG and others made, which prompted my original post, are far more interesting than the girlish swooning.

[SLO Phan]

Romero signs with the Nats? How much do you want to bet he becomes a shut-down pitcher against the Phils?

[st]

lol at the brewers. i'd like to see grienke do anything but srivel up on the big stage before i worry about them. as far as the braves, well we can't play them anyway right off the bat so let's see if they even advance. once again, the giants are the team we need to be concerned with. plus we suck royal you know what at that field

[R.Billingsly]

To answer the question in the header:

This series means absolutely nothing.

It means nothing if the Phils sweep the Sox, shutting them out in three straight games.

It means nothing if the Sox win the next two games 11-1 and 12-0.

It's June. There's a lot of baseball to be played. It's definitely a fun series to watch as each league's best team square off (or the AL's 2d best), but other than that, it's just a series in June.

[Fatalotti]

Clout, again, I apologize for being a fan.

I'll try to be more robotic in my appraisal of baseball from now on.

[Fatalotti]

The series means as much as any non-divisional series in June means. Each game is one game out of 162, and counts as much in the standings as the games in the Oakland and Seattle series.

Win as many as you can, as quickly as you can.

[Fatalotti]

lorecore, I'm sorry. That was probably bad taste on my part.

[Fatalotti]

And, speak of the devil, new thread.

[Heather]

The morons on Dodger TV (not Vin Scully, whomever does the away games) just said they didn't think Jim Thome was a HoF.

I was flabbergasted. Am I just so out of it or what? I thought it was pretty obvious Thome was a HoF, but...

[lorecore]

What if DOM is facing Beckett in October? Doesnt that help his confidence?

The Phils got to see two innings of their lefty, isn't that an advantage for hitters to see a pitcher before?

[aksmith]

Clout - Of course you didn't bother with this point: If it's so easy for a major league hitter to hit a 400 foot homerun, then why haven't Vic or Rollins ever hit a ball that far? Ever. And how many has the best second baseman in the history of the world hit? Can't think of one.

It's easy to dismiss an opinion by coming up with an untrue and unrelated Mini Mart point. But if that's all it took to dismiss an opinion, then you'd have to be dismissed forever because you didn't think Vic would be any good.

See how that works?

[aksmith]

Thome not a hall of famer? Seems pretty inconceivable.

Second best roid free career (probably) for a lefty hitter in recent times. (Griffy Junior)

[clout]

aksmith: I was simply noting that since you were so impressed by Mini-Mart, I'm not at all surprised at how impressed you are by Dom's now-legendary HR.

Someday, you'll tell your grandkids about it.

[R]

Phils lost that June 1st game against the Nats...

[Drew]

R: Good call, thanks. Corrected.

[B.Gizzle]

"Clout - Of course you didn't bother with this point: If it's so easy for a major league hitter to hit a 400 foot homerun, then why haven't Vic or Rollins ever hit a ball that far? Ever. And how many has the best second baseman in the history of the world hit? Can't think of one. "

Not sure of the argument, but simple quick research shows Utley hit a 416 foot homerun off of CC in the 09 WS (10/28/09).

[kuvasz]

The only thing this series could do is quiet the concern that the BoSox lineup can beat the Phillies without having to use their DH. Even in the best of circumstances the Phillies ae going to have to play at least two World Series games in an American League park, employing a DH. If the Phillies beat up on the Sox in Beantown it would be more impressive than winning in Philadelphia.

[RR]

The Cliff Notes are excellent! Thanks for the perspective.